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EDMONTON - There’s the meat on your plate. And then there’s the meat on the hoof. Only the very luckiest of diners get the chance to experience both in one day.

But that’s what some 120 participants enjoyed during the inaugural Taste Alberta farm-to-fork tour, held one sunny Sunday in July in the Gull Lake area. The tour saw dozens of friends and families visit up to five food producers in central Alberta.

We talked to the farmers, saw goats and bison — up close — and crushed a few canola seeds for good measure before gathering at the quaint and cosy Meridian Beach Community Hall to enjoy a five-course lunch prepared by some of the best chefs in Calgary and Edmonton.

On the surface, it looked like a picnic. Children scampered outside the arts-and-crafts style hall as the sun spilled down, and young couples held hands as they sat on the grass with paper plates piled high with food. But this wasn’t ordinary picnic fare. No burgers or watermelon for this crew.

We’re talking gourmet dishes, made with the fresh products supplied by the farms and ranches we toured, and prepared by chefs who normally put their talents to the test in a big-city setting. Chef Michael Allemeier, a SAIT instructor and former executive chef at Terrace restaurant in the Mission Hill Winery in Kelowna, hauled a fancy smoker from his home in Calgary to prepare applewood-grilled bison flat iron steaks, served with lovage chimichurri and marrow-stuffed potatoes. Doreen Prei, head of culinary development at the Petroleum Club in Edmonton, ladelled out vegetable soup topped with crunchy lentils and drizzled with cucumber and spinach yogurt. Andrew Cowan of Edmonton’s Hundred Bar and Kitchen sliced up roasted porchetta and stuffed moist pieces on house-made rye bread with pickled cabbage.

If you weren’t already full, J.P. Pedhirney, head chef at Muse restaurant in Calgary, made stewed lamb tacos topped with crispy lamb belly and pickled carrots. To finish things off with a sweet, Scott Ards of Edmonton’s Bistro Saisons baked a strawberry and rhubarb tart topped with goat milk custard.

Canadian wine was poured by Aligra Wine and Spirits, and even the beer had a local twist. Donated by Budweiser, it was brewed at the Labatt Brewery in Edmonton from malt barley grown by Alberta farmers. Organized by Sharman Hnatiuk (a.k.a. The Pork Girl on Twitter), the Taste Alberta tour cost a modest $40 for adults and $10 for kids.

People at the event said they came because they were interested in the local food movement.

“We are curious about where our food comes from,” said Alistair Ilich, 32, who came to the event with his wife, Yolande Desrosiers, 31.

Desrosiers said the lamb tacos turned her into a fan of the meat, which she previously eschewed. Their only concern was that there wasn’t enough time on the tour, which went from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., to visit all the producers on the route.

The day started at Rock Ridge Dairy, located between Lacombe and Ponoka, where co-owner Cherylynn Bos led us through the production side of the dairy, which yields goat milk products, as well as organic cow’s milk. There, we gained an appreciation for the sheer muscle and stamina required to run a small dairy; the couple (with four children to raise) often sleeps in shifts in order to manage the work load.

After a stop near a canola research field, it was on to Canadian Rangeland Bison and Elk, where rancher Armin Mueller took us on a hay ride into his fenced field, so we could watch bison (the males weighing in at about 2,400 pounds) graze. A calf, born only hours before, took shaky steps around his mother.

“I love the bison for its taste and nutritional value,” said Mueller, who was a cattle rancher until getting into bison about 13 years ago. “It’s the most natural meat you can eat.”

The other producers on the tour were Brown Eggs and Lamb, as well as Billyco Junction Gardens, an organic U-pick. The lunch, which was served between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. as guests trickled in from the farm tours, gave attendees the chance to eat a meal under the blue sky, and to chat with the producers who were able to get away from the farm for a while.

Here’s hoping next summer sees another Taste Alberta farm-to-fork tour, because it was a day to remember. If you weren’t able to make it, here are a couple of recipes for dishes served, prepared by Edmonton chefs Scott Ards and Andrew Cowan.

Andrew Cowan’s Porchetta

This is great served warm and juicy on fresh, hearty bread. It feeds six to eight.

Ingredients:

1 whole, boneless pork loin (approximately 3 pounds/1.5 kilograms)

1 cup (250 mL) fresh basil

1 cup (250 mL) fresh arugula

1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh oregano

1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons (50 mL) chopped fresh garlic

scant 1/2 cup (100 mL) cold pressed canola oil or olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Place all the fresh herbs, garlic and oil into a food processer and leave on until the mix becomes almost like a pesto; set aside. Place pork loin fat side down on a cutting board. Make a cut in the middle of the pork loin running the length of the loin. Don’t cut all the way through, but just enough that you can open it up to stuff it. Stuff the pesto into the pork loin and tie the pork back up using butcher’s twine.

Rub the entire pork loin down with salt, pepper and oil. Roast in the oven at 325F/160C for about 2 hours. Internal temperature should reach 150F/70C. After removing from the oven, let the pork rest for 15 minutes to let the juices settle. Cut pork loin up into smaller, bite-sized bits, and place on crusty dinner bun or hamburger bun. Top with your favourite condiments, such as mustard pickled cabbage.

Scott Ards’s Goat Milk Custard

This soothing custard can be served in small dishes topped with stewed rhubarb, or macerated berries. It serves two.

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

1 whole egg

1 cup (250 mL) goat milk

2 tablespoons (25 mL) sugar

1/4 teaspoon (2 mL) kosher salt

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed

Method:

Whisk egg yolks and whole eggs together in a bowl until a little frothy. While whisking, slowly add the goat milk. Whisk in sugar and salt, pour into a medium-sized pot.

Place pot over medium heat. Stir constantly with a whisk. As it thickens, continue to stir until the custard becomes the consistency of runny yogurt. Remove from heat and pour into serving dishes. Place dished into refrigerator for at least 3 hours to set up. Top custard with any topping you desire.

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